Monaco has once again demonstrated its exceptional commitment to protecting the Mediterranean Sea by signing a new, five-year funding agreement worth €1.5 million for the MedFund organization. This significant event took place during a side event at the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), in the presence of Prince Albert II himself, also marking an impressive 10 years of Mediterranean conservation efforts.
This renewed commitment underscores Monaco’s crucial role in supporting MedFund, a reliable environmental trust fund dedicated to marine protected areas across the Mediterranean, established back in 2015.
Ten years of successful conservation
Born from a joint initiative between Monaco, France, Tunisia, and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, MedFund has grown to strongly support 20 marine protected areas in 10 countries, covering an impressive over 9,500 square kilometers of marine and coastal zones. Particularly striking is the fund’s contribution to high-protection areas, with 800 square kilometers of strictly protected waters, representing more than half of all such zones in the Mediterranean. This outstanding achievement is the result of €6.3 million already committed by approximately 15 donors.
Tackling chronic underfunding
The Mediterranean is, undoubtedly, one of the world’s richest marine ecosystems, but it also faces unprecedented threats from climate change and human activity. MedFund directly addresses a fundamental challenge: the chronic underfunding of marine protected areas, especially along the southern and eastern Mediterranean shores where financing is often irregular or insufficient.
The fund operates on three core principles that have proven essential for success: cross-border cooperation, co-management between authorities and civil society, and science-based decision-making. This approach has facilitated the signing of 15 co-management agreements, bringing together national authorities and local NGOs, while simultaneously benefiting more than 68,000 people through socio-economic opportunities linked to marine conservation.
Each supported marine protected area receives between €50,000 and €75,000 annually, with funding levels tailored to the specific characteristics and needs of each site. To date, this model has mobilized €16 million.
Looking ahead: Ambitious expansion
Looking forward, MedFund has set ambitious expansion goals, aligned with international ocean protection targets. The organization aims to capitalize €35 million by 2030, with the goal of supporting 40 marine protected areas in 10 countries across the southern and eastern Mediterranean.
Monaco’s renewed commitment of €1.5 million, split between the Government and the Prince Albert II Foundation, provides crucial momentum for this impressive expansion. Monaco continues to be a beacon in the efforts to preserve our most valuable natural resources.
